Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - Deep Down Dark

Today I am joining Book Beginning on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader and The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice. I haven't joined in here in quite a while. But I am engaged in this book this week and wanted to share. 

Prologue: Cities in the Desert

The San Jose Mine is located inside a round, rocky, and lifeless mountain in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Wind is slowly eroding the surface of the mountain into a fine, grayish orange powder that flows downhill and gathers in pools and dunes. 

This book is the February read for my local book club. I really wasn't interested in reading it. I thought it would be dark and depressing. But, the majority rules and so it was added to our list. I started it and was immediately involved in the lives of the Chilean miners. The author is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist  and novelist. He is of Guatemalan descent but was born in Los Angeles. Also, this week my husband was watching The History Channel and the story of the American company that drilled down to the miners was featured. It was very interesting and made it seem more real to me. I do remember the news reports when the accident happened. 

Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free

Hector Tobar

Farrar, Straus and Giroux on my Kindle

"There are twenty of us here ready to provide you with immediate help," the minister says. "How are you? How do you find yourselves?"
"Well. We are well. In good spirits, waiting for you to rescue us," Urzua answers, though his voice is hurried and uncertain. 



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

TGIF Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

This week I have finally begun a new book or books to be more correct. I have a couple of challenges to be finished before the end of the year and need to get reading to complete them. I joined Cruisin' Thre the Cozies, hosted by Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews. I joined at the Investigator Level - 7-12 books. You can find my changing list here.   I also have a Favorite Book Challenge going at Goodreads with the group Love of Reading. You can see my post about that one here.  So here goes:

Friday 56 : Page 56 from A Corpse for Yew by Jim and Joyce Lavene.

"You can't exactly call me a redhead anymore." She pushed at her white hair self-consciously. "Now in my youth..."

Book Beginnings : Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

                                       Lydia is dead. But they don't know it yet. 

I need to read quite a few books that start with the letter "E".  This will be one.

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Friday 56 - A Soft Place to Fall (Shelter Rock Cove #1)

I joining The Friday 56 today. I have played along before, but not on a regular basis. Here is an excerpt from page 56 of the book I am currently reading.

"He had wanted to square things with the woman with the sad blue eyes and, if he was being honest, square things with himself as well. It seemed he had been leaving nothing but loose ends behind these last few months. Something about her had reached deep into his soul, far deeper that a casual encounter in a parking lot would justify.He felt a connection, a sense of rightness that he'd never known before. "

Librarian's Note: This is an alternate cover for ASIN B007UCZ5WE

I was looking for a book that had a romantic chemistry between the characters, for a book challenge. Do you think I might have found it?  Understand this is an alternate cover, the regular on looks like this:

Sometimes it's hard to know where the story will go from the cover, don't you think?


This weekend we celebrate our middle great grandson's 2nd birthday. His grandparents, aunts and uncles will be there and so it will be a big deal. He is too little yet for his parents to plan a "friend birthday".  

Hope to participate in this meme again

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

I haven't played along in awhile, but here is the beginning and the "56" of my current read. If you want to join in, go to Rose City Reader and link up your Book Beginning and then share your page 56 or 56% at Freda's Voice.  There you will find a myriad of other bloggers who have shared their Book Beginnings on Fridays and their Friday 56. Fun!!

 Prologue

1979

Fifteen-year-old Winona Grey stared out at the waterfront ranch that had been in her family for four generations, looking for something that had changed.



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pg 56

Dad grunted something unintelligible and got up from the table. Without looking back, he headed into his study and closed the door behind him.

Winona sat there, irritated once again  that she'd let herself expect something from him. Gratitude at the very least.


I may be one of the few people who haven't read this book. I have read other of her titles, Firefly Lane, On Mystic Lake, Winter Garden, Night Road, so I am pretty sure I will enjoy this one as well.

For the next week or two I am going to concentrate on reading the titles I need to finish the Mega Mix Challenge II on Goodreads. You can check my progress HERE.

There are 6 books I need to read to complete the challenge. They are: Wildflower Hill, True Colors, Fifty Shades Freed, Our Lady of the Lost and Found, Cat Trick or The Three Kitties That Saved My Life, and Fire on the Mountain.

And then there will be life getting in the way too I am sure.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Friday 56 Sugar Queen

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice. These are the rules from her blog. So click over to Freda's blog and link up.
Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

The Sugar Queen
Sarah Addison Allen
Bantam Books/June 2008

"Here, eat this, quick," Josey said as she opened her closet door. She put the bag in front of Della Lee, who was sitting on the floor on the sleeping bag.

I am loving this magical book about friendship, love and possibilities.


Until next time.
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Friday 56 - #5 Crafting Calm

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

But to begin your practice immediately, another way to create a blessing basket is simply to embellish a pre-existing basket that you feel drawn to, using paint, ribbon, charms, and anything else that evokes blessings for you. Remember---------that's what's most important is not the actual crafting of the basket, but the spiritual practice behind it. 

In this wired, wild world, it is harder than ever to shut out noise and busyness in order to truly calm yourself, but in Crafting Calm, a D.I.Y. guide to peace of mind, you'll find inspiring ideas for how to do exactly that through a wide range of creative exercises.

I received this book in the mail from my sister. A "just because I thought of you gift".  I am hoping to find it inspiring and uplifting. I need to create some calm in my life and maybe this is just the encouraging focus I need. 

Until next time, 

Stay busy and stay happy or be creative and be calm

Friday 56 #4 for me

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Behind Gabe, I could see Mac's face.It was stoic, unreadable, but he was concentrating on me, on what I was saying to Gabe. When I caught his eyes, his face turned neutral again. 

Until Next time, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Friday 56 and another one in a series.

Below are the rules posted at Freda's Voice, sponsor of this Friday meme. I have only participated a few times, but it's a fun way to see what others are reading and to get a feel for each book. Hope you will click on over to Freda's blog and link up your Friday 56. 

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

page 56

Broken Dishes by Earlene Fowler

A Benni Harper Mystery  #11

"Oh, yes, " Hud said. " Benni and I are also dear old friends." He crossed his arms over his chest. " I should have realized if there was some kind of odd murder scene, you'd be involved."

This is number 11 in a 15 book series. It is one of my challenges in the Mega Mix Challenge in the Love of Reading group on Goodreads. I am hoping to finish that challenge before the end of the year. *fingers crossed*. 

Until next time, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Friday 56 My Second Time.....The Year of Fog.

Freda's Voice says this is Week 151, but it only my 2nd time participating. Join us at Freda's Voice

to share your Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Since it is 6:40 am and my DH is still sleeping, I will grab a book close at hand. Here goes.....

" No female child of Emma's approximate height is exempt from my curiosity and my hope. I wander up and down the hills of Noe Valley, peering into the faces of children on their bikes."

I read this book several years ago and it is still in my bookcase. I have tried to encourage others to read it, but when I tell them about it they are reluctant.  It is "gripping" "compulsively readable", but it also beautifully written and ultimately a story of hope and love. 

Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Friday 56 - #1 for me

• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

"Come in, come in. Sorry I took so long coming to the door. 

I had no idea crutches were so damned tricky. "

Today's selection:

From Goodreads:

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. ...

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.(less)


I have just started reading this book. It is on my Kindle and so I just went to page 56 rather than 56%. I did not want to read too far ahead. It was recommended to my by a close friend, so far I am enjoying it.

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy